I think part of that had to do with Kylo Ren's blaster wound. He was bleeding and kept punching his wound to try to keep pushing on. Without that, Finn (and maybe even Rey) would've been done sooner.
OT: Movie Review -- Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
I think part of that had to do with Kylo Ren's blaster wound. He was bleeding and kept punching his wound to try to keep pushing on. Without that, Finn (and maybe even Rey) would've been done sooner.
Yeah, he was Damien Lewis lite. Just get Damien Lewis. Given how little the sith value life, I just find it hard to believe they care about him unless he has more to offer. Fin was a bit of a disappointment, but even more so was Captain Phasma. I thought her character was going to be a lot tougher.
My alternate take after one viewing and a Truman baby's memory. Ben did come over to the light side. We do not see who pushed the button on the light saber. It may be that Han sacrificed himself to make Ben more acceptable in the eyes of Snoke. Replay the final conversation between dad and son from that light. Also, after Han dies, Ben doesn't kill anyone else. He certainly could have finished off Fin. He was holding back against Rey. I guess we will know in five years.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
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***SPOILERS***
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Yeah, I don't buy the Ben/Kylo playing the 'long game' here, pretending to turn evil so he could infiltrate the Sith and kill Snoke (would mean Han was in on in on it too, and also mean that Kylo killed a bunch of Jedi trainees to do this instead of teaming up with Luke, which makes zero sense IMO). That's a popular theory going around right now and there just isn't enough evidence to support it. To be honest, Kylo was dead meat at Rey's hands if the earth doesn't split apart and separate them.
The good news is a) it's fun to speculate about this stuff, and b) we don't have to wait five years to find out what happens - next one is out May 26, 2017. Although there *may* be some hints before then, depending on what happens in Rogue One, which hits theaters December 16, 2016. It takes place around the time of A New Hope, so good chance we'll see some very familiar characters. Here's the cast, led by Felicity Jones...
***SPOILERS***
Hey Midnighter wanted to mention something to you.
When I saw this movie two days ago the first time I saw the X wing pilot I hated him. Couldn't even figure out why or who he was. By the end of the film he became one of the most likable characters to me.
Found out afterwards he was the same guy as from Ex Machina. What a turnaround. Excellent actor. Hope to see more from him.
just an update on the record smashing box office . . .
estimated $49 mil box office FOR FRIDAY
total domestic gross: $440 mil
total world wide gross: $890 mil
this movie will soar past Avatar . . .
estimated $49 mil box office FOR FRIDAY
total domestic gross: $440 mil
total world wide gross: $890 mil
this movie will soar past Avatar . . .
Just a trivia item for those also into Tolkien. Snoke is played by Andy Serkis, aka Gollum.
Rogue One apparently is not going to intercross plots/stories with Star Wars. Rogue One characters are supposed to be kept separate, that is the intention both films have at the moment anyway. I think the idea is to have two on going Star Wars sagas (why not) with LucusFilms doing Rogue One and Disney, Star Wars. This way Lucas can I guess, stay active in the Star Wars universe but not use the name.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
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Yeah, Oscar Isaac is having a moment so to speak - lands plum Star Wars role (and I loved his character who is even more intriguing when you find out his backstory involves being the son of a female Rebel officer/pilot and a male war-hero sergeant) and gets to be the big bad in the new X-Men movie (as Apocalypse). Looking forward to seeing more of him in the next couple of Star Wars films for sure - he was my favorite character after Rey.
Sidebar: I don't know that there has ever been more perfect casting for an X-Men character than that of Olivia Munn as Psylocke.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
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Well, there has to be some overlap - the plot involves a plot to steal the plans for the Death Star. I'm sure they could do it without overlapping, but I would have to think some known characters will make an appearance.
Maybe R2D2 or something like that. I think the intention is keeping it familiar with Star Wars. But a totally different ongoing story,
Reportedly, it's a replacement part that came from another droid. No details are provided in the film. Speculation is that it's 30 years after Episode VI, and the C-3PO droids are old technology, so parts come other droids.
Also, there's a report that a comic is coming out that will fully explain how C-3PO ended up with a red arm.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Well, there's also this (probably a long-shot, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility).....
JJ Abrams is a fan and supporter of legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima (the creator of the Metal Gear saga). Kojima is a well known figure in the industry not only because he has created some of the most memorable and innovative video games of the past 30 years, but also because of his well known affinity for film. Consider the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu has awarded only 23 perfect scores to various video games across various platforms in their history, and Hideo Kojima created three of them (all three part of the Metal Gear saga), including his best and most recent work, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (released in June). Anyway, Hideo has long talked about bringing his video game franchise to film (and it would RULE!) and has met with various studio heads and directors about doing this. He met with JJ Abrams earlier this year (supposedly to inform him that the new game was finished, but hopefully to talk to him about working on the Metal Gear film as well). Here they are together (holding a signed copy of the game from both):
Anyway, the main character in the game, Big Boss, has a prosthetic left arm, which is red:
Word around nerd circles is that Abrams did the C3PO arm red as a sort of a wink and a nod to his pal Kojima. Long-shot, yeah, but still pretty interesting.
And full disclosure, my avatar is the logo for Kojima's new video game studio, Kojima Productions.
box office update:
$544 mil domestic
$1.09 BILLION total worldwide gross
should easily break Avatar's domestic record of $760 million
just passed The Dark Knight to be the 15th highest grossing film (worldwide)
$544 mil domestic
$1.09 BILLION total worldwide gross
should easily break Avatar's domestic record of $760 million
just passed The Dark Knight to be the 15th highest grossing film (worldwide)
Earlier today I went to see The Force Awakens for the 2nd time. This time, I saw it in 3D.
I enjoyed it every bit as much the 2nd time -- perhaps even a tad more. There were a number of subtle things that I had missed the 1st time which I noticed in today's viewing. In addition, any issues I had with the movie seemed to be non-issues on the 2nd viewing. Rey was even more impressive, and her ability to grasp the force so quickly was more believable. I didn't find Finn as weak of a character as I did in the 1st viewing. While there have been complaints about Kylo Ren removing his mask, his doing so made more sense to me the 2nd time I saw the movie. I also found Leia to be a more sympathetic character, as well as very believable in her new position.
Watching it in 3D was interesting. I don't know that the overall experience was greatly enhanced by 3D, but some of the scenes were a little more captivating.
The hokiness that I mentioned in my initial review was still there. The are also too many coincidences, landings on planets that accidentally happen where they do, etc. that would cause someone to question the odds of such events happening.
The crowd of my 2nd viewing was significantly older than the crowd at my 1st viewing. In addition, it was not nearly as into the experience as the crowd that watched it on opening night. Perhaps the age distribution contributed to the different experience, or perhaps many of the attendees had seen or read too many spoilers.
I should also add that one of the people I attended the 2nd viewing with is a super Star Wars. This individual was disappointed in the film. They found the plot too simple, and didn't like some of the new characters.
My feeling is that The Force Awakens is still a really entertaining movie, and well worth going to see 1 or more times.
I enjoyed it every bit as much the 2nd time -- perhaps even a tad more. There were a number of subtle things that I had missed the 1st time which I noticed in today's viewing. In addition, any issues I had with the movie seemed to be non-issues on the 2nd viewing. Rey was even more impressive, and her ability to grasp the force so quickly was more believable. I didn't find Finn as weak of a character as I did in the 1st viewing. While there have been complaints about Kylo Ren removing his mask, his doing so made more sense to me the 2nd time I saw the movie. I also found Leia to be a more sympathetic character, as well as very believable in her new position.
Watching it in 3D was interesting. I don't know that the overall experience was greatly enhanced by 3D, but some of the scenes were a little more captivating.
The hokiness that I mentioned in my initial review was still there. The are also too many coincidences, landings on planets that accidentally happen where they do, etc. that would cause someone to question the odds of such events happening.
The crowd of my 2nd viewing was significantly older than the crowd at my 1st viewing. In addition, it was not nearly as into the experience as the crowd that watched it on opening night. Perhaps the age distribution contributed to the different experience, or perhaps many of the attendees had seen or read too many spoilers.
I should also add that one of the people I attended the 2nd viewing with is a super Star Wars. This individual was disappointed in the film. They found the plot too simple, and didn't like some of the new characters.
My feeling is that The Force Awakens is still a really entertaining movie, and well worth going to see 1 or more times.
The time compression was one thing that bothered me--it was similar in the new Star Trek. There, Kirk goes right from Cadet to Captain. Really?? While he was the youngest captain in Star Fleet in the original--he didn't do it at 22. Here, in Episode VII the final countdown is supposed to be a couple of minutes, yet characters move rather good distances on foot in that time. I think Abrams is a bit weak here.
Still a fun, fun movie.
The one other thing (*SPOILER*) is that I think the old question of Han shooting first in the first movie has been answered. He did--that's in character--especially now given where the "old" Han has gone with his life. I think that Lucas wanted to make him a more sympathetic character given his romantic relationship with Leia in Episode V and so tried to make him less of a rogue.... But that was always the charm of the character--and his fatal flaw (all good characters need one).
Still a fun, fun movie.
The one other thing (*SPOILER*) is that I think the old question of Han shooting first in the first movie has been answered. He did--that's in character--especially now given where the "old" Han has gone with his life. I think that Lucas wanted to make him a more sympathetic character given his romantic relationship with Leia in Episode V and so tried to make him less of a rogue.... But that was always the charm of the character--and his fatal flaw (all good characters need one).
Thanks Tom. I also saw it a second time this weekend. I enjoyed it just as much or more the second time. I may see it again...
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Well, that and being able to look up in the sky and see a planet and moons blow up from several light years away. Flying at light speed and slowing down in the atmosphere without crashing was another head scratcher. A large moon or small planet being able to consume a star, and travel quickly to another star to reload was another odd thing. Honestly, I thought the original death star designs were better: quicker reload and ability to travel. Being able to shoot from extreme distances was nice, but was it really that beneficial? And why doesn't the rebellion build one of their own? Sure would be useful against another death star or large enemy fleet. End rant about a thoroughly enjoyable movie.
Spoiler: saw it again this weekend and paid closer attention to the sequence with Rey and Luke's light saber. The Knights of Ren destroyed Luke's Jedi training academy. The outfit the child Rey had on is similar to the youngling Jedi trainees in Episode 3 when Darth Vader slaughters them (perhaps Kylo is really bent on imitating Darth Vader and thinks it is a way to become more engrossed in the Dark Side of the force?). You can hear what is a combo of Alec Guinees's and Ewan McGregor's voices when the voice says, "Rey your journey has begun". When Rey is dropped off on the planet, the hand grabbing her arm is that of the junk dealer, Unkar Plutt (played by Simon Pegg by the way). So Rey was being trained as a Jedi, her parentage, at this point, appears to be likely to be Luke's daughter or perhaps Leia had another child without Han, or as some folks have postulated, perhaps she is Obi-Wan's granddaughter. Being on the junk planet of Jakku also makes the connection with having the Millenium Falcon there not be so coincidental.
That did bother me a bit the 1st time I saw it, but it was a non-factor the 2nd time I saw it.
Thankfully, it was similar to the first trilogy, not the second trilogy.
I guess I would question why people are frustrated it was similar to a winning formula. It had all the elements of the "real" Star Wars movies. Isn't every franchise movie similar to the other ones? Ala Star Trek, X-Men, Avengers, Spiderman, Iron Man, Thor, Transformers, Independence Day, Die Hard, Mad Max, etc., etc., etc.
I also found out Brienne of Tar was Captain Phasma, who will allegedly have a larger role in the upcoming films.
I also found out Brienne of Tar was Captain Phasma, who will allegedly have a larger role in the upcoming films.
Tom,
I, like you, saw it both in 3d (opening weekend) and 2d (yesterday) and enjoyed it more the second showing that I did the first. Though both times I still felt like they needed more time to fully develop the characters/plot. It felt a bit rushed to me - but as others have said, the "holes" we may feel exist can be filler for the next 2 (minimum) episodes. I did enjoy finding all of the "Easter Eggs" in the second viewing and, quite frankly, want to see it perhaps a third time - though I think I want to watch the first six sequentially first and then go see The Force Awakens again. Spoilers in this link - 10 Coolest Easter Eggs http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/12...rce-awakens-easter-eggs-references-and-cameos
As Santa just visited our house, I wanted to give a review of a few Star Wars related gifts my son (10) received.
1. Xbox One Star Wars Battlefront - We just upgraded to Xbox One from Xbox 360 - much better graphics and my son has enjoyed conquering each level of Battlefront. Multiple options for players including playing as some older characters - Darth Vadar/Boba Fett - and memorable locations in the Star Wars universe - Endor, Hoth, Tatooine, etc.
2. Millennium Falcon Drone - A quad copter made out of what appears to be Styrofoam, but apparently a composite that is virtually indestructible. Takes some time to learn to fly, but the lights and sounds are great, including a glowing hyperdrive engine. Not sure, yet, if we have to register this drone as it doesn't go very far- will have to look into that. No camera - we consider it our learning drone before we invest in a more expensive model with a camera.
3. Sphero BB8 Droid - Controlled by an iPhone App - the BB8 droid has been so much fun to use! The downloadable app allows you to control BB-8 directly, listen to the cool sounds of BB-8, has a camera to record augmented reality messages and listens to voice commands. Surely will be upgraded in the future with more! My son's first "hologram" message was "Mom, I am your son" it was so cute! A lot of functionality we still have to learn, but by far the best Christmas gift my son received. Well worth the investment. We like to put it on Patrol mode and just watch it explore.
I, like you, saw it both in 3d (opening weekend) and 2d (yesterday) and enjoyed it more the second showing that I did the first. Though both times I still felt like they needed more time to fully develop the characters/plot. It felt a bit rushed to me - but as others have said, the "holes" we may feel exist can be filler for the next 2 (minimum) episodes. I did enjoy finding all of the "Easter Eggs" in the second viewing and, quite frankly, want to see it perhaps a third time - though I think I want to watch the first six sequentially first and then go see The Force Awakens again. Spoilers in this link - 10 Coolest Easter Eggs http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/12...rce-awakens-easter-eggs-references-and-cameos
As Santa just visited our house, I wanted to give a review of a few Star Wars related gifts my son (10) received.
1. Xbox One Star Wars Battlefront - We just upgraded to Xbox One from Xbox 360 - much better graphics and my son has enjoyed conquering each level of Battlefront. Multiple options for players including playing as some older characters - Darth Vadar/Boba Fett - and memorable locations in the Star Wars universe - Endor, Hoth, Tatooine, etc.
2. Millennium Falcon Drone - A quad copter made out of what appears to be Styrofoam, but apparently a composite that is virtually indestructible. Takes some time to learn to fly, but the lights and sounds are great, including a glowing hyperdrive engine. Not sure, yet, if we have to register this drone as it doesn't go very far- will have to look into that. No camera - we consider it our learning drone before we invest in a more expensive model with a camera.
3. Sphero BB8 Droid - Controlled by an iPhone App - the BB8 droid has been so much fun to use! The downloadable app allows you to control BB-8 directly, listen to the cool sounds of BB-8, has a camera to record augmented reality messages and listens to voice commands. Surely will be upgraded in the future with more! My son's first "hologram" message was "Mom, I am your son" it was so cute! A lot of functionality we still have to learn, but by far the best Christmas gift my son received. Well worth the investment. We like to put it on Patrol mode and just watch it explore.
LOL, obviously you've never seen an episode of Doctor Who. I love the show, it can get very profound and literate, but, boy, you gotta suspend disbelief every now and again.
Hah, I'm about to take a ride in the Tardis. If you'd like, I'll check to see if Tom Baker left any old scarfs around that I could bring back for you.
I am not happy that the Silent Hills project with Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro has been shelved. I was really looking forward to that.Well, there's also this (probably a long-shot, but certainly not out of the realm of possibility).....
JJ Abrams is a fan and supporter of legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima (the creator of the Metal Gear saga). Kojima is a well known figure in the industry not only because he has created some of the most memorable and innovative video games of the past 30 years, but also because of his well known affinity for film. Consider the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu has awarded only 23 perfect scores to various video games across various platforms in their history, and Hideo Kojima created three of them (all three part of the Metal Gear saga), including his best and most recent work, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (released in June). Anyway, Hideo has long talked about bringing his video game franchise to film (and it would RULE!) and has met with various studio heads and directors about doing this. He met with JJ Abrams earlier this year (supposedly to inform him that the new game was finished, but hopefully to talk to him about working on the Metal Gear film as well). Here they are together (holding a signed copy of the game from both):
Anyway, the main character in the game, Big Boss, has a prosthetic left arm, which is red:
Word around nerd circles is that Abrams did the C3PO arm red as a sort of a wink and a nod to his pal Kojima. Long-shot, yeah, but still pretty interesting.
And full disclosure, my avatar is the logo for Kojima's new video game studio, Kojima Productions.
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Holy crap! Are you looking to adopt any more kids? Maybe a 30-something year old? Xbox One, $200 Sphero droid and a drone? I was lucky to get about 1/100th of the value of those items on Christmas as a kid.
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anon_xdc8rmuek44eq
Guest
Penn State pays pretty well to get people to shill for their false narrative, protecting victims be damned.
Just got back from finally seeing The Force Awakens. So much has been written already. I have nothing to add worth reading concerning the details of the film. I went with low expectations and was happily surprised. Our group was all of the same opinion that it was pretty good to good, not great, and well worth the time spent.
